Science / Tech

Wisconsin officials say they have taken multiple steps in recent months to guard against the type of attack that Russian hackers unleashed on neighboring Illinois when they allegedly stole data about hundreds of thousands of Illinois voters before the 2016 election.

A private vendor inadvertently introduces malware into voting machines he is servicing. A hacker hijacks the cellular modem used to transmit unofficial Election Day results. An email address is compromised, giving bad actors the same access to voting software as a local elections official.

In the 21st century, nearly a century after its founding in the 1930s, the institution balances Wisconsin's tradition of ecological research with public outreach, citizen-science projects and hosting visitors.